Research progress of Mendelian randomization in ocular diseases / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

Etiological research is necessary for understanding the occurrence and epidemiological patterns of diseases, and is also a prerequisite for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of clinical diseases. Mendelian randomization(MR), a method of research that combines genetics and epidemiology, has the advantage of exploring the causal relationship between exposure and disease genetically as well as avoiding confounding factors and reverse causation. Thus, it has been extensively utilized in the etiological study of diseases. This paper reviews the implementation of MR in the research of ocular diseases and provides ideas and approaches for the investigation of related mechanisms as well as the development of intervention strategies.

Current situation of incision sites in laparoscopic nephrectomy for intact specimens by urologists in China / 现代泌尿外科杂志

【Objective】 To investigate the current status of incision sites to obtain intact specimens in laparoscopic nephrectomy by urologists in China, so as to provide reference for the standardized procedure. 【Methods】 During Jun.20, 2021 and Jul.4, 2021, more than 20 000 urologists in a WeChat group were surveyed with a questionnaire. The general data, incision sites and related complications were statistically analyzed. 【Results】 A total of 601 valid questionnaires were collected, covering urologists from 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Surgical approaches: 68 urologists chose trans-abdominal approach, 432 chose posterior abdominal space approach, 101 chose both surgical approaches. Incision sites: 97 urologists chose lumbar transverse incision, 202 chose dorsal oblique incision of the waist, 119 chose ventral oblique incision, 93 chose the paramedian incision, 112 chose the lower abdominal oblique incision (Gibson), 11 chose the transverse lower abdominal incision (Pfannenstiel), 7 chose the median incision of the lower abdomen, 2 chose the median incision in the upper abdomen, 15 chose axillary midline direct incision; 399 chose to cut off the muscles, and 202 chose not to. Complications: 232 urologists reported pain after 2 weeks, 369 reported no pain; 325 reported numbness after 2 weeks, 276 reported no numbness; 66 reported incisional hernia, 535 reported no hernia. 【Conclusions】 Chinese urologists tend to choose retroperitoneoscopic nephrectomy and waist incision to obtain intact specimens. Transperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy has a variety of incisions for intact specimens. There is no standardized incision sites to obtain intact specimens.

Investigation and reflection on the "periodic recall" clinical examination of oncology residents / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Objective:Based on the investigation of students after the "periodic recall" examination, to discuss the role and existing problems of this kind of examination in the joint training of standardized training for residents.Methods:In March and October, 2017, questionnaire survey was conducted on the students who participated in the "periodic recall" clinical examination, and the arrangement and implementation of the assessment were evaluated by the students in terms of satisfaction, and the ability status before and after the clinical examination was assessed in person on a scale of 1-10. At the same time, the results of the two times of examinations were analyzed, and the average scores of all skills and the overall average scores were calculated to compare the differences. SPSS 16.0 was used for t test and variance analysis. Results:A total of 112 questionnaires were distributed and 99 were returned. Students' overall satisfaction with the examination arrangement was high, with the satisfaction of all items above 70%. After the examination, the students' self-assessment scores of all abilities were improved, and there were significant differences before and after the examination. There was a significant difference in the average improvement of self-assessment ability among the seven skills ( F=4.19, P=0.006). The results analysis showed that the average score of simple operation was higher than the overall average score, with significant differences. Conclusion:"Periodic recall" examination can meet students' psychological and learning needs in the tumor hospital training, with high satisfaction, which has obvious effect on improving students' simple operation skills, but weak improvement of complex comprehensive skills.

Effect of sub-anesthesia dose of isoflurane in 60％ oxygen on acute lung injury in aged rats with sepsis / 中华麻醉学杂志

Objective To investigate the effect of sub-anesthesia dose of isoflurane in 60％ oxygen on acute lung injury in aged rats with sepsis.Methods Ninety male Sprague-Dawley rats,aged 12-14 months,weighing 500-800 g,were divided into 3 groups (n=30 each) using a random number table:sham operation group (Sham group),sepsis group (S group),and sepsis plus isoflurane plus oxygen treatment group (S+I+O group).Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture in S and S+I+O groups.In group S+I+O,0.7％ isoflurane in 60％ oxygen was inhaled for 1 h starting from 1 and 6 h after operation.Eighteen rats were selected in each group and observed for 7 days after operation,and the survival rate was recorded.Six rats were selected in each group at 24 h after operation,and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was collected to determine the protein concentrations (by BCA protein assay),blood samples were collected from the femoral artery for blood gas analysis,PaO2 was recorded,and the oxygenation index was calculated.Six rats in each group were sacrificed at 24 h after operation,the left lung specimens were obtained and stained with hematoxylin and eosin for examination of pathological changes,the right lung specimens were obtained for determination of wet to dry weight ratio (W/D ratio),and blood samples were collected from the right atrium for measurement of the concentrations of interleukin-1β (IL-1β),IL-6,tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α),high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) and IL-10 in serum (by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay).Results Compared with group Sham,the survival rate was significantly decreased,and the concentrations of IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α,HMGB1 and IL-10 in serum were increased in S and S+I+O groups,and W/D ratio and protein concentrations in BALF were significantly increased,and the oxygenation index was decreased in group S (P＜0.05).Compared with group S,the survival rate was significantly increased,W/D ratio and protein concentrations in BALF were decreased,the oxygenation index was increased,the concentrations of IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α and HMGB1 in serum were decreased,and the concentration of serum IL-10 was increased (P＜0.05),and the pathological changes were significantly attenuated in group S+I+O.Conclusion Sub-anesthesia dose of isoflurane in 60％ oxygen can reduce acute lung injury in aged rats with sepsis,and the mechanism may be ralated to inhibiting systemic inflammatory responses.

Characterization of a novel mouse model with genetic deletion of CD177

Neutrophils play an essential role in the innate immune response to infection. Neutrophils migrate from the vasculature into the tissue in response to infection. Recently, a neutrophil cell surface receptor, CD177, was shown to help mediate neutrophil migration across the endothelium through interactions with PECAM1. We examined a publicly available gene array dataset of CD177 expression from human neutrophils following pulmonary endotoxin instillation. Among all 22,214 genes examined, CD177 mRNA was the most upregulated following endotoxin exposure. The high level of CD177 expression is also maintained in airspace neutrophils, suggesting a potential involvement of CD177 in neutrophil infiltration under infectious diseases. To determine the role of CD177 in neutrophils in vivo, we constructed a CD177-genetic knockout mouse model. The mice with homozygous deletion of CD177 have no discernible phenotype and no significant change in immune cells, other than decreased neutrophil counts in peripheral blood. We examined the role of CD177 in neutrophil accumulation using a skin infection model with Staphylococcus aureus. CD177 deletion reduced neutrophil counts in inflammatory skin caused by S. aureus. Mechanistically we found that CD177 deletion in mouse neutrophils has no significant impact in CXCL1/KC- or fMLP-induced migration, but led to significant cell death. Herein we established a novel genetic mouse model to study the role of CD177 and found that CD177 plays an important role in neutrophils.

Cloning and characterization of a selenium-independent glutathione peroxidase (HC29) from adult Haemonchus contortus

The complete coding sequence of Haemonchus (H.) contortus HC29 cDNA was generated by rapid amplification of cDNA ends in combination with PCR using primers targeting the 5'- and 3'-ends of the partial mRNA sequence. The cloned HC29 cDNA was shown to be 1,113 bp in size with an open reading frame of 507 bp, encoding a protein of 168 amino acid with a calculated molecular mass of 18.9 kDa. Amino acid sequence analysis revealed that the cloned HC29 cDNA contained the conserved catalytic triad and dimer interface of selenium-independent glutathione peroxidase (GPX). Alignment of the predicted amino acid sequences demonstrated that the protein shared 44.7~80.4% similarity with GPX homologues in the thioredoxin-like family. Phylogenetic analysis revealed close evolutionary proximity of the GPX sequence to the counterpart sequences. These results suggest that HC29 cDNA is a GPX, a member of the thioredoxin-like family. Alignment of the nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of HC29 with those of the reported selenium-independent GPX of H. contortus showed that HC29 contained different types of spliced leader sequences as well as dimer interface sites, although the active sites of both were identical. Enzymatic analysis of recombinant prokaryotic HC29 protein showed activity for the hydrolysis of H2O2. These findings indicate that HC29 is a selenium-independent GPX of H. contortus.

Cloning, expression and characterization of a gene encoding alpha2 subunit of the proteasome in Schistosoma japonicum / 生物工程学报

The 26S proteasome is a proteolytic complex responsible for the degradation of the vast majority of eukaryotic proteins. Regulated proteolysis by the proteasome is thought to influence cell cycle progression, transcriptional control, and other critical cellular processes. A novel Schistosoma japonicum gene (GenBank Accession No. AY813725) proteasome alpha2 subunit (SjPSMA2) was cloned. Sequence analysis revealed that the ORF of SjPSMA2 gene contains 708 nucleotides encoding 235 amino acids, and the molecular weight was estimated to be 25.84 kDa. Real-time PCR analysis showed that this gene expressed in 7 d, 13 d, 18 d, 23 d, 32 d and 42 d schistosoma. The mRNA level of SjPSMA2 was lower in 7 d and 23 d schistosomulum than that in other stages. The SjPSMA2 cDNA fragment was subcloned into an expression vector pET28a(+) and transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3) cells. After induction with IPTCQ the 30 kDa fusion protein was produced as included bodies. Western-blotting revealed that the fusion protein could be recognized by the rabbit serum anti-Schistosoma japonicum adult worm antigen preparation, and the protein in native could be detected. After immunization of BALB/c mice with the fusion protein, the reduction rates of worm counts and liver egg counts were 12.33% and 35.23%. ELISA results revealed that the vaccinated group showed a significant increase in the level of IgG antibody. This study provided an important basis for investigating the regulation mechanism of the proteasome during the development of Schistosoma japonicum.